National Internet Safety Night

October 23, 2007 at 9:24 PM CDT - Updated July 26 at 7:00 AM

WDAM EDITORIAL

October 23, 2007

NATIONAL INTERNET SAFETY NIGHT

October 23, which happens to fall on Tuesday of this week, has been designated National Internet Safety Night, and in observance of that designation Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has announced that his office has received a federal grant of $250,000 to aid in their efforts toward fighting Internet crimes against children.

7 ON YOUR SIDE News reported on August 1 of this year that Mississippi was the first state in the nation to form a high-tech cyber crime fusion center that pulls together all the available resources including the FBI, Secret Service, local and state officers, prosecutors and forensic specialists, all working together to discover and cut down on the time it takes to prosecute cases of perverts who use the Internet to lure and exploit minors. Sting operations have proven extremely effective and a highly publicized one was set up in Jackson that netted a large number of offenders.

So often Mississippi has the notoriety of being dead last on so many lists and it is wonderful to know that we were the first state in the nation to put in place a national cyber crime center. The $250,000 grant to Mississippi's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force will go a long way toward continued success in that fight.

It sickens me to hear stories of little children who have had their innocence stolen at the hands of some sick and twisted pervert. We applaud the efforts of all involved and urge parents to be the first line of defense in this relatively new threat. Everything possible should be done to catch these predators and see that they are brought to justice.